QQI Points Calculator

Progression Routes

Finding CAO Courses with Progression Routes.

Your QQI Award can be used as an alternative to the Leaving Cert to access Higher Education (CAO) courses. Hundreds of courses are available to holders of any QQI Level 5 or 6 award, while others will require specific awards.

Points Calculator for QQI Level 5 & 6 awards (from 2017 onwards)

Note: Max Score = 390

Credits vs Points

In most Further and Higher Education courses, every module you take has a credit value. Short modules have fewer credits than longer modules. Completing a module means you have achieved all the credits for that module. Typically, QQI modules are 15 credits each – so completing 8 modules = 120 credits. 120 Credits are needed to achieve a QQI Major Award.

However, sometimes a module will have as much as 30 credits, so completing one large module (30 Credits) plus 6 more normal modules (6 × 15 = 90) would achieve the 120 credits needed. Some courses also offer additional modules, in which case you use the scores from your best ones to calculate your points, but this makes figuring out your points trickier.

The Calculator above will calculate your CAO points for all combinations once you put in the information required.

Progression Routes

Finding CAO Courses with Progression Routes.

Your QQI Award can be used as an alternative to the Leaving Cert to access Higher Education (CAO) courses. Hundreds of courses are available to holders of any QQI Level 5 or 6 award, while others will require specific awards.